


A Diamond in the Rough

by TurtlePlz



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Allergies, BAMF!Bilbo, Blood, Burns, DoS Spoilers in later chapters, F/M, Fem!Bilbo Whump, Fragile Bilbo, Gen, Hobbits are amazing, Hurt hobbit, I think that's it - Freeform, I'll tag it in the chapter title, Whump, accidental abuse, but also pretty delicate, for now anyway, possible triggering later on, the dreded montly, will be updated if/when need be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2018-01-05 02:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1088798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurtlePlz/pseuds/TurtlePlz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilba Baggins is one of the most sturdy Hobbits in the Shire; she's had more broken bones than any of the other gentle Hobbits (boys or girls), she can beat any Hobbit in a drinking contest on her worst day, and she can walk on some very sharp gravel and won't break stride.</p>
<p>However in a group of 13 burly darrow men on a quest to reclaim a lost kingdom, that doesn't mean much.</p>
<p>A group of semi-linear ficlets that showcase how fragile yet badass our little burglarobbit is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rubbed Raw Noses

When Bilba had gone of on this absolutely mad adventure there were a few things that she didn't bring into account.

One of them was the fact that she would be traveling with a group of unmarried Darrow men. 

Once she got back to the shire (an unhelpful little part of her mind whispered ' _if_ ') her reputation would be unrepairable. She could already hear the murmurs hissed behind her back; spinster, tramp, whore. 

But that could be dealt with in the future. At the moment she had a more pressing matter to attend to. 

That matter being her allergies.

She was one of the few unlucky in the Shire to have developed allergies as a child. She was never allowed to play with the Gamgee's cat, or the old Gaffer's dog. She knew she wasn't allowed to play with animals, so she never did. She had nearly forgot about her allergies until she set eyes on the ponies. They were such scruffy, fluffy things and she felt a pit of dread in her stomach.

"No thank you, I'm very much capable of walking, all Hobbits are you see. We can walk for miles on end an--"

In the end she was set on a pony anyway, and they were off.

Bilba felt absolutely mortified during and after what she now dubs as 'The Handkerchief Incident' so she kept to herself after it.

She tried to keep her sniffles and sneezes quiet as they rode on and she did with a good level of success. Using the handkerchief that she was given Bilba was constantly blowing her nose and rubbing at it to relieve the almost constant tickling, itching and eventually burning sensation. As she worried the skin on and around her nose, the harsh fabric that was given to her dried out the skin. 

It had gotten so bad that at some points it cracked an bled above her lip but she steadfastly ignored it. They already saw her as a weak little thing, she didn't want to give them any more ammunition. She cleaned the abrasions and handkerchief as often as she was able to prevent infection from setting upon her. And so she continued to keep her bleeding, sniffly nose under the radar.

It was only one night a few days into their trip that someone noticed.

It was little Ori who noticed; it was after a long day of traveling and Bilba was half asleep when trying to dismount. Seeing her having trouble (she had somehow got her large fuzzy feet caught in the reigns), he went to help and in her sleep induced haze she didn't try to stop him. She merely accepted his help with a weary smile as she was gently de-tangled and lifted up by her waist by the darrow. Placing her on her feet, Ori let out a little gasp as he tilted her head up, "Miss Baggins, you're bleeding!"

Now fully awake, Bibla made a startled noise and gently pushed herself away from him. The other dwarves at the word 'bleeding' all turned and stared at her as she squeaked, "It's nothing! Really it's nothing for you to worry yourselves over I'm fine!"

Dwalin gave her a rather impressive glower before looking at Oin and nodding in her direction. Oin nodded back and walked to her as she was flanked by Fili and Kili, who were trying to get worried glances at her nose. Oin (surprisingly gently) took her face in his hands and gave her nose scrutinizing, and searching looks. 

After about a minute he nodded and released her, "Aye, ye rubbed it raw. We'll put some of me salve on it and it shant scar." He gave her a stern look, "But next time lass, don't hesitate te ask about somethin like this; yer lucky it didn't get infected."

Bilba felt herself flush and as Oin went to grab his salve Kili gave her a concerned look, "Why didn't you tell anyone?" "Yea, that looks like it really stings," Fili added, looking at it with an uncomfortable expression. The Hobbit heaved a sigh, "Well you all already made fun of me for needing a handkerchief, goodness knows how you'd 've mocked me if I had said I'd started bleeding because the fabric was too rough."

The brothers gave each other a glance and nodded before patting her on the shoulders and going to speak with their Uncle. As she was ushered to a seat about as far away from the ponies as possible Oin came up and dabbed her nose with the foul smelling salves. 

He gave a chuckle when her face scrunched up and patted her head, "Just try to keep tha rubbin down to a minimum and ye should be fine. Although we'll have to find somethin else fer yer hankie."

As Oin walked away he was quickly replaced by Dwalin, who thrust out a hand. Bilba blinked and found that clutched in his hand was what looked to be a silk handkerchief. She gently took it from him and gave a confused look. 

Dwalin snorted and crossed his arms, "We can't have you rubbing your nose off before our journey even gets started. Take better care of yourself, Halfling." Bilba's confused look turned to that of a ruffled hen as she huffed and turned away from him, not before mumbling a 'Thank You'. Dwalin in turn made a snarly grumphy noise before turning on his heel and going back to sit with his king.

In her little tizzy, she never did manage to ask where he had gotten a silken handkerchief. All was well in the end however, as he would have never had told her that he had bought it for her when they were traveling through Bree.


	2. Warm Fires and Hotter Pots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darrow can handle warm pot handles with ease.
> 
> But apparently warm to a Darrow is searing to a Hobbit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so much for once a week. I'm terribly sorry about that, the holidays got a hold of me and wouldn't let go D: Bu I'll be trying my best to keep up now, honest!

' _Now this_ ,' thought the hobbit as she chopped up potatos and carrots, ' _Is something I can do_.'

Over the past few weeks Bilba had been trying to make herself useful. However almost every time she tried she ended up in the way.

Time to go get firewood? She couldn't carry nearly as much as the rest of them, and by the time she had two armloads (which is a very good ammount for a hobbit thank-you-very-much) brought back to camp she was tired, while her companion was on their fourth. So they took her off of firewood duty.

Next she tried her hand at riding ahead with Fili and Kili to scout for good sleeping spots, places to hunt and other things of the like. But with her inexperience on a pony caused an incident that involved the boys (trying and failing to smother their laughter) having to corral the spooked pony with the spooked hobbit on top. Thorin gave her a scowl and there went that job.

Hunting was out, as she had no weapon.

But the foraging and the cooking? That she had been doing since she was a mere fauntilng.

She could easily see the difference between a wild yam and an air potato and happily did so.

Shoveling the tubers into the pot she puttered about, washing a few pots and chatting with Bombur about different spices.

Bilba had delighted in the fact that someone shared her enthusiasm with everything food and always tried to help him with dinner. Bombur in turn was quite pleased with her company, puffing with a small bit of pride when she complemented him on his girth (a very impressive one by shire standards) and his knife set (made them himself he did).

Dwalin somewhere in the group made a comment about it being a woman's job that got a few laughs and a few glares as well. Specifically from the Ur clan, as they all were quite supportive of their brother/cousin (and their little hobbit although at the moment they might not had admired it aloud).

Bombur rolled his eyes and murmured, "Don't you worry about him lass. He's just jealous, as I know for a fact that he couldn't cook his way out of a wet sack." The was a shout of protest and a roar of laughter and Bilba couldn't help giggling behind her fist. The look he shot her made her turn away but did nothing more than make her giggles worse.

Bombur shifted some things around in a sizzling pan and nodded. "Those are done, could you toss 'em in the pot while I get the last of the meat started?" BIlba nodded and went for the handle before hesitating.

"It's not hot is it?" Bombur laughed and shook his head, "No, just a bit warm, but not hot."

Smiling and nodding she grabbed it without further hesitation.

However the sizzle of flesh and a startled yelp had everyone looking back toward the fire.

Bilba was cradling her right hand, wincing and Oin was already up next to the large Dwarf who was fretting and fussing about her.

"I am so sorry lass!" 

"I thought you said it wasn't hot." she hissed, whimpering as Oin, after a little bit of coaxing, made her unclench her fist. The Medic made a tutting sound and grabbed his kit. Already parts of her hand were starting to blister, the entire palm was a bright red and puffy and Bombur couldn't have felt more guilty if he tried.

"It wasn't! I held it with no problem!" Bofur walked up and tentatively touched it before picking it up and placing the contents in the pot with a confused look. "He's right lass, it's not hot, just a bit warm is all."

Thorin gave her palm a look before giving an undignified snort, "Seems the hafling is more delicate than we thought. Can't even pickup a warm pot." Bilba shot him a glare and for a moment she opened her mouth to retaliate before Balin stepped in. 

"Now now, lets not get into an uproar over this. Hobbits are built differently. Alue's wife made them in her image and she was more delicate than her husband but just as fierce. There's no need to insult or to take insult, it's just the way things are." Bilbo let her anger deflate with a huff of air and a hiss as Oin salved and bandaged her hand.

"Ye'll be fine, just try not to grip it too much and come back to me each day so we can change the bandage and ye'll be right as rain."

As the commotion died down Bombur (still guilty faced) went back to cooking and Bilba sat out the rest of the night. Dwalin popped by her for a moment and poffered his pipe. "Tha sissy weed of yours wouldn't help ya but a good dwarvish one 'll numb tha pain a bit."

Bilba sniffed indignantly for a moment, "I'll have you know that Old Toby isn't ment to dull physical pain but helps more with mind; dims the rushing and pounding of thoughts." She gave it a look, "However my mother did always tell me to always try something at least once. And if it'll get rid of the sting for a moment then I might as well give it a shot."

She took a drag and held if for a moment before making a few smoke rings, her body visibly relaxing as she gave a hum. "That is quite lovely, thank you Dwalin."

The tattooed dwarf nodded and went back to his spot for the night, scowling as the lads (Fili and Kili as Ori wouldn't dare) came over and teased him about not wiping of the stem before putting it back in his own mouth. 

"Like an indirect kiss it is!" Got Kili a clonk on the head from said pipe as Dwalin gave a side glance to the lass, hoping that she hadn't heard. But when he saw her dozing against a tree he couldn't help but feel revealed she hadn't heard and slightly curious as to why she hadn't wiped the stem off before she placed it in her mouth herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Yea I know I have a lot of fics series started already, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone! This also has just about the most planning I've done for a FanFic Series xD 
> 
> I'm gonna try to update this at least once a week C:


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